Check List for compliance with Consumer Rights Legislation in the Airline Sector
1. Do all price indications include all unavoidable and foreseeable taxes, charges,
surcharges and fees? (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, UCP + Air Services Regulation)
- are unavoidable booking fees included in the indicated prices?
- are unavoidable payment fees (e.g. credit card fee) or other administrative fees included in the indicated prices?
- if there are different fees for different payment methods, are they indicated
(is the lowest existing payment fee included in the price )?
- are unavoidable check-in fees included in all price indications?
2. Are optional boxes shown in the booking process on an "opt-in" base? (Air services regulation).
3. Does the consumer deliberately choose for options without "pre-ticked" boxes? (Air services regulation)
4. Do statements of free tickets respond to real situations in which consumers gets a valid ticket without any
payment of any kind? (UCP Directive) (This also applies to frequent flyer programmes)
5. Are limitations or conditions to the offer disclosed? (UCP Directive)
6. Do the identity of the company and its contact details are clearly indicated? (UCP Directive)
7. Is the language used in the advertising and pricing maintained throughout the selling process, including
the terms and conditions displayed in the conformity box? (UCP Directive)
8. Do special offer indicate the number of tickets available and the periods for which the offer is valid?
(UCP Directive)
9. Is access to air fair granted without any discrimination based on nationality, place of residence or place
of establishment of the air carrier's agent or ticket seller within the Community? (Regulation on air services)
10. Is it stated whether it is a direct flight or it has a stop-over? (UCP Directive)
11. Are the steps to follow clearly stated so that the consumer is fully aware of the moment when the transaction
has been produced? (UCP Directive)
12. If the arrangements for payment are unusual (depart from the requirements of professional diligence),
are consumers clearly and timely informed? (UCP Directive)
13. Are the amounts indicated (in the breakdown of the price) the correct amounts due by the air carrier?
(Regulation on Air Services)
14. Where certain charges cannot be calculated in advance (check-in fee; luggage fees), are consumers clearly
informed such charges may be payable and the manner they will be calculated?(UCP Directive)
15. Are the airports of departure and of destination clearly indicated by the name of the nearest town and
not by the capital or the best known city in the country? (UCP Directive).
16. Are all the applicable conditions, limitations to special offers or any information relevant to the
decision making process of consumers displayed in clear and readable characters?
(Unfair Contract Terms Directive +Air Services Regulation)
17. Are the standard contract terms clearly available to the consumer before the ticket is bought?
(Unfair Contract Terms Directive + Air Services Regulation)
18. Is there a clear and explicit indication of conditions of cancellation and modification of tickets?
(Unfair Contract Terms Directive + Air Services Regulation).
19. Can the consumer print-out (or save otherwise) a copy of company's standard terms and conditions?
(Unfair Contract Terms Directive )
20. Is the consumer's consent to the standard terms and conditions obtained in an opt-in manner
(no pre-ticked box is used)? ( Unfair Contract Terms Directive + Air Services Regulation)
21. Are liability obligations related to lost luggage and accidents indicated in accordance with
Regulation 889/2002 on air carrier liability (EU legislation transposing parts of the Montreal Convention
on the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage)
22. Are the clauses free of limitation of service provisions based exclusively on the trader's will?
(Unfair Contract Terms Directive + Regulation 889/2002)
23. Is the consumer not subject to compliance with any particular formality that would permit the company
to fail in its obligation? (Unfair Contract Terms Directive + Regulation 889/2002)
24. Are there no provisions allowing the trader to retain sums paid by the consumer when the former is the
party cancelling the contract? (Unfair Contract Terms Directive + Regulation 889/2002)
25. Is the company prevented from dissolving the contract on a discretionary basis permitting the corporation
to retain the sums paid for services note yet supplied?
(Unfair Contract Terms Directive + Regulation 889/2002)
26. Is the contract free of terms irrevocably bounding consumer of which he had no opportunity of reasonably
becoming acquainted before the conclusion of the contract?
(Unfair Contract Terms Directive + Regulation 889/2002)